The phone is just shy of an inch deep and is 3.3 inches high by 1.8 inches wide, weighing in at 3.5 ounces.

"LG InfoComm U.S.A. differentiates itself from its competitors by providing the market with product options that offer compact form factors, advanced features and functionality," said Jae Bae, president of LG InfoComm U.S.A.

Feature Attractions

Among the features of the US$250 clamshell device are an external caller ID screen, menu-driven navigation, voice memo, vibrating ring alert, bilingual -- English and Spanish -- display capabilities, voice-activated dialing and predictive text-entry functions for SMS (short message service) messaging.

Throw in the calendar function, the "smart" filing system for text messages, fax capabilities, the Openwave mobile browser and the calculator, and a user might play with the thing for months before actually making a phone call. Of course, Sprint figures users will remember to use the device for calls, too.

"The TP5200 is an ideal communication tool for virtually all consumers, from on-the-go professionals to fashion-conscious young adults," said John Garcia, senior vice president of sales and distribution for Sprint PCS.

Gearing Up for 3G

LG Infocomm U.S.A. has worked recently with Verizon Wireless, which announced last spring that it was testing an LG Infocomm 3G (third generation) handset for Verizon's upcoming CDMA2000 1X network.

Sprint's most recent cell-phone release was the SPH-N200 by Samsung, the successor to an older SCH-3500 model. That $200 flip-up handset included bilingual display capabilities, calendar, calculator, expanded phone book and other features.

San Diego, California-based LG Infocomm U.S.A. is a unit of Korean electronics maker LG Electronics of Seoul, Korea. The parent company has sold more than 10 million digital handsets worldwide and claims it is the first manufacturer to commercialize the CDMA (code division multiple access) digital mobile communication system with its support of the launch of the SK Telecom Network in Korea.